Love of Pi
by FlawlessPrincess21
Summary: Pi is stranded on a lifeboat with a beautiful girl, not a tiger! But will she prove to be more dangerous for Pi than even a grown Bengal tiger?


Chapter 1: Lost

Pi Patel threw his arms up to cover his face from the giant wave that was about to crash onto him. It felt like a slap when it struck, leaving a strong stinging sensation upon his tan skin. He quickly wiped the water from his eyes and struggled to see past the heavy rain and waves. His parents and brother were nowhere to be seen. The ship that they were aboard had long since been dragged under the deep, choppy waters. Pi was the only strong swimmer in his family and he knew that neither his parents, nor his brother, could be any match for the fierce waves that he barely escaped from. Pi sank to the floor of the lifeboat and drew his knees to his chest. He wanted to cry, but his tears refused to come out. He simply stared ahead at the seemingly endless ocean, the ocean that snatched his entire family from him within one hour.

"Help!" A voice called from the side of the lifeboat. Pi immediately sprang to his feet and rushed over towards the sound of the voice. He looked over the side of the boat and saw a hand reach up from beneath the water. He quickly grabbed a hold of it and pulled his fellow survivor up. A pair of dark brown eyes met his. It was a girl. Her long, dark brown hair hung wet and limp in her face and her pretty pink lips were trembling with a mixture of cold and fear. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he grabbed on to her back so that he could pull her safely out of the deadly waters. Pi could feel her shaking and taking quick, shallow breaths. He held her in his embrace even once she was aboard the lifeboat.

"You're okay. We're safe now," Pi murmured in her ear, trying to calm her down. He finally let go of her and took a step back. He'd seen her on the ship before it sank. She was around his age and fairly skinny. She was very petite and fragile looking, almost like a doll. She had a slight tan and her cheeks were growing pink from the cold. Pi knew that she and her family were Pakistani. He also couldn't help noticing that her clothes were soaked and sticking to her skin.

"Here, you look cold. Take this," he handed her a wool blanket that he got out of the seat of the boat. She flashed him a tiny smile and wrapped the blanket around her body.

"Thank you. Thank you for saving me, too," she said shyly. She pulled the blanket tighter around her body and sat down on the bench against the wall of the boat.

"Don't mention it! Really, I'm just glad that I'm not completely alone," Pi sat down on the opposite bench. The girl's eyes glistened with tears that were threatening to spill over.

"Are we really the only survivors? No one else made it?" She asked quietly. Pi nodded and stared at the floor. He heard her stifle a sob.

"We just have to wait to be rescued and I guess see what happens from there," he mumbled. The girl tucked her hair behind her ear and stared out across the ocean.

"We're lucky to be alive," She said finally. Pi looked her in the eyes and nodded.

"Yeah we are," he said scornfully. He quickly changed his tone. "I'm Pi, by the way. Pi Patel," he ran his hand through his curly, brown hair.

"My name's Alisha Khan," She absentmindedly twirled a strand of her hair around one of her long, delicate fingers. Pi smiled at her.

"Well, Alisha, it's great to meet you," He sat back in the bench and put his hands behind his head. "I can't imagine that we'll be here for much longer. A rescue team should be on its way." He squinted out towards the horizon, willing a rescue ship to appear.

**1 Day Later**

Alisha sat up on the bench and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The sun beamed down on her, slightly burning her cheeks. Disoriented at first, she quickly remembered where she was. Her heart immediately sank. A part of her wished that this was all an awful, awful nightmare. She squeezed her dark eyes shut and opened them again. The vast ocean greeted her. She took a deep breath and forced the tears that were pooling in her eyes to dry. _I'm not going to cry. That won't help me. I need to be strong and do whatever it takes to survive._ She said to herself in her thoughts.

"Hey, You're up. It's about time. You've been asleep for about 18 hours. You must be hungry, here," Pi handed her a biscuit and a metal cup full of water. She accepted it from him great-fully.

"Pi, a rescue crew, if one was even coming, should have been here by now. I don't think anyone's coming," Alisha said before biting the biscuit. Pi furrowed his eyebrows.

"No, I'm sure someone will come... they have to," Pi's voice trailed off. He knew that chances of rescue were a bit off, but a part of him wanted to protect Alisha and her hope. He didn't want to upset her. "Hey, let's play a game. Why not get to know each other while we wait? We can like, take turns naming our favorite things! I'll start. My favorite color is...orange," Pi waited for Alisha to respond. She chewed her lip while she thought, which Pi immediately thought to be adorable.

"Umm, well normally I would say that my favorite color is blue, but," She motioned towards the ocean, "Considering the circumstances, it's now red," She said cracking a smile. Pi chuckled.

"Okay, my favorite type of music is Classical Indian," Pi said, drumming a common Indian rhythm on his knees. Alisha's eyes lit up.

"No way! That's my favorite too! I actually studied classical dance since I was like, five!" Alisha said excitedly. Pi could tell that classical dance was her passion because of the way her eyes sparkled when she spoke of it.

"Well, maybe one day you can show me one of your dances," Pi said smoothly. Alisha smiled and nodded.

"Of course, I promise that I'll show you one day," she smiled at him warmly. Pi smiled back.

**1 week stranded**

"Are you okay?" Pi asked Alisha frantically. She was hunched over the side of the boat. She retched and threw up into the ocean. Barely anything was coming out because of how malnourished the both of them were. Pi dug through the box of supplies that was located under the tarp that was covering half of the boat. He was trying to find some medicine or anything else that could help her.

"I'm okay," Alisha called to him weakly. Her face was pale and glistening with sweat and her eyes were blood shot. Her hands were trembling as she gripped the side of the boat.

"There has to be something in here!" Pi grumbled angrily, shifting through the first aid box. "Why the hell wouldn't anyone think of putting some sort of medicine in the first aid box?" His angry question was answered by more retching. He grabbed his can of water and handed it to Alisha.

"Here, drink this. You need to keep hydrated, you're losing all of your fluids right now," Pi turned away from her as soon as he handed her the can so that she could be sick in peace. He knew that she wouldn't want him staring at her as she vomited.


End file.
